Fruit gatherer



Oct. 26, 1954` E. BOMAN 2,692,470

FRUIT GATHERER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed OCT.. 29, 1951 I In Y d, l l g 5 ELMER BOMAN ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1954 BOMAN 2,692,470

FRUIT GATHERER Filed Oct. 29. 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

l ELMER BOMAN ATTORNEY E. BOMAN FRUIT GATHERER Oct. 26, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 29, 1951 INVENTOR. EMMER BOMAN ATTQRNEY gli.

Patented Oct. 26, 1954 UNITED STAT FRUIT GATHERER Elmer Roman, Dallas, Oreg., assigner of one-half I y to Donald P. Boman, Dallas, reg.

Application ctober 29, 1951, Seriall No. 253,606

(Cl. 56--32S) Il Claims. l

This invention relates to nut and fruit picking machines and is particularly adapted to the method of picking fruits or nuts wherein the tree is shaken, causing the nuts or fruit to fall on to a gathering table.

The Iprimary object of this invention is to provide a gathering table mounted upon supporting tracks adapted to embrace the nutv or fruit tree providing a receiving table underneath the branches of the tree.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for collapsing or folding the table While moving from one tree to another.

Another object of the invention is 'the provision of conveyor belts forming part of the receiving table for transferring the nuts or fruits to a grading and sorting table mounted upon the picker.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a conveyor for supporting containers or boxes Which are bought under the sorting table to be lled With nuts or fruits from the table.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a conveyor belt for delivering the filled boxes or containers from the sorting table to the ground surface.

Stilll another object of the invention is the mounting of a tree shaking device on the picking machine for shaking the nuts and fruits from the tree on to the receiving table.

These and other incidental objects will be ap parent in the drawings, specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view oi my nevv and irnproved'. picking machine, illustrating the tree shaker in Contact with the tree. One side of the table fully extended While the opposite sideA is partially folded, parts broken for conw venience of illustration.

Figure 1A is an enlarged fragmentary detail elevational view of the conveyor, grader and sorting table.

Figure 2 is a side View of Figure l.

Fgure 3 is anl end view, takenl on line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction indicated.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail perpsective View of the table supporting and extension mechanism.

Figure 5 is a side View' on a reduced scale of the opposite eide of that shown in Figure 2'.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail View of part oi the catching table, sorting table and box conveyor belts.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view 2 of the sorting `table taken on line l--l oi Figure L i Figure 8I isa diagraimnatical-lay cut of a portion of the hydraulic system employee to carry out the various. objects of my invention.A

Referring. more specifically to the drawings:

My newr and improved: nut and fruit picking machine consists of ai horizontal framework l, which isA mounted on ytheirarne 2' of the mobile track supporting unit s. The mobile track supporting consists of av frame 2; supported by the usual tracks il .ot well known design. The framev l: is supported by a pair of lfryclrau-licv cylinders 5 mounted Within'. the frameiz. of theY mobileV track supporting unit 3, having their piston rods tp-ivotally connected at t torthe framework. l.

A. single hydraulic "cylinder K is' fixedly mounted Within the frames 2 of the: mobile track supporting unit 37 and-2 has its ypiston rod- 9 Ypivotally connected atl!! to the .central portion of the framework I,. providing a tl'rreehpoint suspension between thev track frame 3 the frame t oi the picking machine. The object of which; WillI be more fully described later: on. i

A platform -It is supported. `by the framework I by the' vertical frames i2 and the. braces' t3. A. powery plant lit. is mounted to the platform It and drives the tracks; Il from-the transmission l5 and: drive shaft t6 in the' usual manner. have not attemptedto illustrate the steering mecha:- nism, but it would be of a standard design as used in. connection With. crawler type tracks.

Tables Ill are: hinged'ly connected tothe framework l at I8,v and are,I held at the angle illustrated best in Figure 3 by` the brackets la bearing against the edgelof theirarne I- at 2G.

Referringl to'- Fifguref 7i; I'illustrate an enlarged detail oi? the tablefstructure; which consists of framework Zil' across the top of which is stretched resilient material, as for instance fabric 22- upon which the fru'itor nutslfall. This; zt'raaneworl;` is further illustrated throughout the various views.

The extensible tables 23 rest on topir of the tables il are supported by the extensible frame' mechanism illustrated in Figure 4. The frame or track M1 i'sxedly secured underneath and tothe trameworkf of vthev tablesL lil7 at 25. The movable bracket 26 is adapted to sliclfel on the track 24 'as at- ZF. its outer end' 2li) bei-ng' connected andi secured tothe table -213 'at 29I.` There are two of thesetab-lie extension 4meelfifafr-risni= onl each side of' the table'assembly, as best illustrated in Figures- 1l and'- 2. f Y

When the picker is-moved from one tree to an other the outside tables 23 are" retracted, as illustrated in Figure l on the upper side of the drawings, or when the machine is to be moved over the highway, they rare retracted and the tables i7 are hinged or folded over the framework of the machine, including the tables 23. The tables 23 are moved in or out by hydraulic cylinders 38, which are pivotally connected to the underside of the tables by way of the brackets 3| at `32.

The piston rods 33 are pivotally connected at 34 to the bell cranks 35, which are pivoted to the underside of the table I1 by way of the brackets 35 at 31. The cranks 35 are connected to the levers 98 by the links 35A. The levers 98 are pivotally connected at 99 to the underside of the table best illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The opposite ends of the levers 38 are pivotally connected to the links 39. which in turn are pivotally connected at 40 to the bracket 26. The operation of which can be readily understood by referring to Figures l, 2, 3 and 4.

Deilectors 4| are hingedly connected to the frame at 42 and are brought to the position illustrated in the drawings when the machine has been brought to the proper position in regards to the tree. Deectors 43 remain stationary and are not necessarily hingedly secured to the frame. Flexible material 44 is secured to the inner ends of deflectors 43 as well as to the inner ends of deiiectors 4| and the inner edges of the flexible material 44 engages and surrounds the tree when the deflectors 4| are brought into place. These deiiectors are pivoted about their pivot points 42 by hydraulic cylinders 42A, as best illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. I have not illustrated the valve control for this, but these cylinders are operated in both directions positively by a four-way valve from the operators seat 61.

When the fruit or nuts falls on the table they are conveyed to the sorting belt by the conveyors 4B, which run throughout the length of the table in spaced longitudinal relation to each other thus forming part of the table. 'I'hus a longitudinally extending slot is provided that extends from the front of frame past the center thereof to accommodate a tree trunk. The belts 46 are trained about the driving rollers 41 and the idling rollers 48. The nuts or fruit are delivered on to the grading unit 49, consisting or rods spaced apart a distance depending on the size of nuts or fruit being sized.

The grading unit 43 is interchangeable, depending upon the use to which the grader is being put to, referring to Figure 1A. From the grader unit 49 the product is delivered on to the sorting belt behind which a fruit sorter sits on the seat 5B where he can sort the fruit before the same is delivered into the box 5|. Empty boxes 52, as best illustrated in Figure 5, are supported by the conveyor belt 53.

A power take-off unit 54 is mounted to the power plant |4 and drives the conveyor 53 through the clutch mechanism 55 by way of the shaft 55A, drive chain 56, into the shaft 51, which drives the belt roller 58. This clutch may be operated by the foot pedal 59 and its connecting link mechanism 60 by the fruit sorter setting on the seat 50.

The conveyor belt 6| is driven by the clutch mechanism 62 by Way of the drive belt 63.l This clutch is controlled by the foot pedal 64 and the connecting link mechanismv65 by either the fruit sorter, or it may be controlled by the foot pedal 66 by the operator of the picking machine Who sits on the seat 61.

Referring to Figure 6, the conveyor frame 6B of the conveyor belt 5| is pivotally mounted at t9 to the supporting bracket 'it mounted to the platform It is raised and lowered and supported by the bridle '1| and piston rod 'HA of the hydraulic cylinder 72, which is supported by the bracket 13 mounted to the platform the operation of which will be later described.

In order to shake the nuts or fruit from the tree, I have mounted a tree shaker 'I4 to the platform by way of the pedestal l5, which is pivotally mounted to the platform at 'I6 at its lower end, and having the horizontal boom 11 pivotally mounted at 13 at its upper end. The boom being raised and lowered by the hydraulic cylinder 'i9 which is pivotally mounted at 80, having its piston rod 3| pivotally mounted to the boom at 32. This governs'the height of the end 83 of the shaking boom in regards to the tree.

In the event the tree is sloping er is located on a side hill, the hydraulic cylinder 234, which is pivotally connected to the platform i at 85 having its piston rod 85 pivotally connected at 83 to the pedestal l5. This will control the forward and backward position of the end 33 of the boom against the tree when operated by the operator sitting on the seat 61. I have' not attempted to show the operating mechanism within the end 83 of the tree shaker, as the mechanism concerning the shaker is already being manufactured.V I have merely illustrated how it can be mounted to my new and improved nut and fruit picking machine.

Most tree shakers are operated by air so I have provided an air pump 9| driven by the power plant i4 and having an air reservoir 92, referring to Figure 1. In order to operate the hydraulic cylinders throughout the picking machine, I have provided a hydraulic pump 33, which receives its liquid from the reservoir 94, referring particularly to Figure 8.

The conveyor belts 43 and the sorting belt 45 of the sorting table are driven from the power take-off 54 by way of the shaft 8l, belts 33, 33 and 1 90, referring to Figures 1 and 2.

I will now describe the operation'of my new and improved nut and fruit picking machine. The operator of the machine sits on the seat 6l and operates the controls located on the control panel as follows, First, he operates the hydraulic cylinders 30, pulling in the extensible tables 23 as shown on the upper side of Figure l from the broken line position. This is done by operating the four-way valves 36 which receive hydraulic fluid from the manifold al' from the pump 93 and reservoir 94, operating the cylinders 3c in a direction to pull the tables inwardly as shown, by causing the piston rod 33 to extend pivoting the crank arm 35, which pivots the levers :38 about their pivots 33, pulling the links 33 and the brackets 26 along the tracks 24 as indicated in Figure l on the upper portion of the drawing.

The machine is then moved forward bythe operator sitting on the seat 6'! by operating the clutch pedal |04 and the gear shift lever itl so as to cause the machine to move forward, embracing the tree between the forward ends of the conveyors 46 and the frame i, after which the deiiectors 4| are moved to the position shown in the drawings by the cylinders 42A. The end 83 of the shaker embraces the tree and is adjusted to the proper position by the opertaion of the hydraulic cylinders '|9 and 84 by the movement of the four-way valves |02 located on the instrument board 95.

The extension tables 23 are then spread out their full distances under the tree. The boX conveying belts 53 and 6I are operated as above described through their clutches 55 and 62 from the drive shaft 55A by either the sorter sitting on seat 50 or the operator sitting on seat 6l'.

Due to the fact that ground surfaces are not always level, the machine can be raised vertically by the hydraulic cylinders 5 by way of the threeway control valves [05, either simultaneously or each one individually, depending upon the angle of ground surface. The hydraulic cylinder 8 supporting the forward end of the frame l is operated independently by the four-way control valve 106 by the operator of the picker, or the control valve |06 may be automatically controlled in the following manner,

Ground contact points 101 are pivotally mounted at |00 or 09 respectively to the frame I of the machine. The object of these shoes is to automatically keep the frame of the picker in a more or less level condition in the following manner. The valve |06 is held in a neutral or central position as shown by the spring H0 pulling on the lever HI, cables H2 and H3 are trained about the pulleys H4, holding the shoes i0? in the position illustrated in Figures 2 and 8. In the event either of these shoes strikes the ground surface due to hilly terrain, the cables H2 and H3 will be pulled, moving the lever Ill of the valve |06 so as to either raise or lower the piston Within the cylinder 8, pivoting the frame l about the points l of the piston rod 6 of the cylinders 5, maintaining the frame of the machine in a relatively level condition. This automatic levelling is one of the outstanding features in the structure of my nut and fruit picking machine.

rIlhe valve 106 may be operated manually from the control panel 95 by the operator sitting on the seat El. After the picker has been brought to the position under the tree, the shaker 14 is brought into operation, being operated by the air contained within the container 02 by controls not here shown.

What I claim is:

1. A nut and fruit harvesting apparatus, comprising a mobile track supporting unit, a frame mounted on said mobile track supporting unit and having a longitudinal slot extending from the front end past the center thereof to accommodate a tree trunk, a, pair of longitudinal conveyors respectively on each side of said slot, a driving roller and an idler roller mounted on said frame at the opposite sides of the slot to support the conveyors in longitudinal relation to each other, inclined deectors positioned on said frame within said slot between said conveyors, a pair of deflectors respectively pivoted on said frame at opposite sides of the outer end of said slot and movable between positions opening said slot to permit passage of a tree trunk and closing said slot in oppositely inclined relation to deflect toward said conveyors, outer tables pivoted on the outer sides of said frame, and extension tables movably supported by said outer tables for movement between storage positions coinciding With said outer tables and operative positions extending beyond the outer edges of said outer tables.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, including power means on said frame for driving said mobile track supporting unit, hydraulic pressure means on said frame, hydraulic jacks connected with said pressure means for respectively operating said inner, outer and extension tables, and control means connected to said pressure means for selectively actuating said jacks.

3. An apparatus as dened in claim 2, including a plurality of hydraulic jacks on said mobile track supporting unit and supporting said frame, said jacks being connected to said pressure means and said control means for selective operation to regulate the angle of said frame relative to said mobile track supporting unit.

4. An apparatus as delined in claim 3, wherein there are frame supporting jacks at both the front and the rear of said mobile track supporting unit, control levers are pivotally mounted on the front corners of said frame and extend below said frame for ground contact, and control means for the front of said jacks and connected with said levers for actuation upon ground contact by said levers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 105,333 Hooton July l2, 1870 1,380,033 Bagnall May 31, 1921 1,473,081 Cook Nov. 6, 1923 1,626,068 Bartlett Apr. 26, 1927 2,159,311 Berger May 23, 1939 

